


Once In A Lifetime

by ioveremus



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Boy Band, Bisexual Remus Lupin, F/F, F/M, Gay, Gay Sirius Black, Lesbian Marlene McKinnon, M/M, Marauders, Multi, Pansexual Character, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-12 14:40:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28637151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ioveremus/pseuds/ioveremus
Summary: The Marauders, going from a pathetic friend group performing in their local pubs to being the best known band in the world.
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Marlene McKinnon/Dorcas Meadowes, Peter Pettigrew/Original Female Character(s), Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 6
Kudos: 38





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place in 2017, modern day. This is my first fic working alone so leave feedback or comments! Enjoy

**September 15th, 2017**

The pub between Abbey Road and Baker Street was filling up with people getting off of work or possibly just needing a break from home.

Anyone in town could hear the muffled music of a live band coming from the place. Inside, the waiters were scattered around, serving drinks left and right to impatient and tired customers.

The chatter of the crowd drowned out the four boys on stage, effortlessly stroking their guitars and tapping away on the drums. One of them huffing under their breath into the microphone.

“This is such a waste of time.” The blonde one of the four pipes up. “We’ve been here for three bloody hours and we haven’t played a single song.”

The drummer swings his drum sticks between his fingers, blowing out a fog of smoke out of his mouth. “At least we get paid, Worms.”

“Getting paid to stand here like morons, that’s what we’re gettin’ paid for, Remus.” The blonde who goes by Peter, or mostly called Worms, says.

“Agree with that.” The guitarist named James, adds in. “I came here to play and these lifeless wankers can’t learn to keep their mouths shut.”

Remus rolls his eyes at their useless bickering, poking the raven haired bassist in the back with the tip of his drum stick. “Oi, Sirius, get their attention before I lose it with these two.”

Sirius nods a bit, walking over and grabbing the microphone from Peter’s clutch, speaking clearly into it. “Uh, excuse me?” He says, the chatter just growing louder and louder by the minute.

“Hellooo? I know you all can hear me.” He says blandly, looking at the crowd. “Twats.” He spits at the microphone, swinging it back into Peter’s hands.

The four of them have been trying to get gigs for awhile, upgrading from James’ parents’ basement to a small space in a local pub.

Though, they’ve been friends since they could remember. They met in primary back when they were eleven, clicking together since the day their professor decided to make the most idiotic decision of putting the four of them into a class project together.

They dropped out of secondary school when they were sixteen. Deciding to peruse their life long dream of making it onto the big stage, with a crowd full of ecstatic people screaming their names for another song. That idea hasn’t been going too well. Now they’re eighteen, living in a three bedroom and one bathroom flat with no air conditioning nor a heater.

“Well,” Remus says, throwing the cigarette onto the floor and smashing it with the heal of his shoe. “I’m going home lads.”

“Moons, you can’t!” James whines.

“Watch me.” Remus snaps back, stuffing his drum sticks in his back pocket as he begins to take apart his drum set.

“Oh for Christ sake.” Peter grabs onto the microphone once more, placing it next to one of the speakers so it makes the most ear bleeding noise.

The pub erupts with groans and shouts from the sudden noise.

“We’re trying to perform!” Peter says, slipping the mic back into the holder.

The crowd fills up with complaints and boos, a few dirty napkins and chips being thrown directly at the lads on stage.

A blonde haired girl shoots up from her seat, her head floating through the crowd until she reaches the stage, reaching her hand out in front of them.

“Give me the microphone.” Her thick Irish accent asked harshly. Sirius looks down at her and narrows his eyes, crouching down onto his knees.

“And why should we?”

She smiles mildly and yanks the mic off the stage, facing the crowd and tapping it.

“AYE.” The girl shouts into it as loudly as she possibly can. The pub quieting down and turning around to face her.

“Why don’t you wankers shut up and show some respect, hm?” Her voice was soft but still intimidating enough to zip their mouths shut.

Murmurs were spread across the room until she cleared her throat once again.

“Thank you.” She tosses it back to Peter and takes a seat right at the front of the stage, observing them quietly.

“Well then— ready boys!” Sirius announces, raising his arm up high and throwing it back down against the cords of his bass, the sound bursting throughout the room.

Remus shrugs, thumping his drum sticks together and begins playing a low but upbeat sound with his drums.

“This is our cover of Naive by The Kooks so, enjoy, I guess.” Peter mumbles and shrugs his shoulders before closing his eyes shut, drifting with the melody.

  
REMUS

_ I’m not saying it is your fault, _

_ although you could have done more. _

_ You’re so naive yet so. _

JAMES

_ How could this be done, _

_ you’re such a smiling sweetheart. _

_ Oh and your sweet and pretty face. _

_ In such an ugly way, something so beautiful _

_ that every time I look inside. _

SIRIUS

_ I know that she knows that I’m _

_ not fond of asking _

_ true or false it may be she’s _

_still out to get me_.

PETER

_ I may say it was your fault _

_ Cause I know could _

_ have done more _

_ Oh, you’re so naive yet so. _

Each beat from each instrument mixed into one another to create one singularly fitting tune. The crowd grew pitch quiet, no longer being ignored or talked over. Everyone’s eyes fixed upon one of the lads.

The song finishes once Remus hits the cymbal, soon clamping it between his fingers to silence it.

The clapping begun by the blonde girl sitting up front, then continued onto the rest of the pub. Cheering and whistling filled the place up.

“Well, they seemed to like it.” James says, smiling and dramatically bowing down along with Sirius.

Remus shakes his head at a grinning Peter, they both smile at one another before facing the crowd, waving in thanks.

As the chatter erupts once again, the Irish lady walks up to them once again, clapping her hands slowly together.

“Well, that was better than what I expected it to be.” She says, pushing her purse up on her shoulder.

Peter arches an eyebrow, “thank you..?”

She puts her hand out for them to shake, and they do, shaking her hand one by one.

“I’m Marlene McKinnon. I work in the music industry, ya know.” Their heads shooting over at her quickly.

“Don’t be fuckin’ with us, lady.” Sirius adds in, pointing his finger at her with an aggressive look on his face. “That ain’t something to joke about.”

“Why would I lie?” She rolls her eyes and reaches into her purse, taking out a tiny white card with her name, phone number and agency on it. 

“Bloody hell.” James snatches it from her hand and looks down at it. “It’s real!”

“Of course it’s real.” Marlene responds. She nods her head over to the backstage, which they take as an offer and walk back there.

“So? Why are you telling us this?”

She sets her purse down on a chair, spinning over to them, her lips pursed together. “Because a group like yours doesn’t deserve to be playing in nasty old pubs like this. No no, talent shouldn’t be wasted like that.”

“Meaning what?” Sirius asks bored, leaning his side against the wall and tapping his foot on the floor.

“I can make you big stars. With the right equipment and team, hell— you’d be the biggest band in all of Europe.”

A laugh escapes Remus’ lips, which he quickly covers with his hand but not fast enough since the rest of them looked at him.

“What’s so funny?” The McKinnon girl asks. “Ya think I’m joking or something? I don’t waste my time of people who don’t deserve shit.”

“All this that you’re saying— just sounds ridiculous. How is it possible that the night we perform, a girl who works in the music industry just happens to be in the crowd?” Remus asks.

“Pure lock, hun.”

They all look between one another before setting their eyes back upon Marlene.

“How do we know you’re legit?”

She rubs the bridge of her nose between her fingers, inhaling sharply. “How about I show you?” She says, “I can take you to the studio I work with. Though it’s in Oxford, bit of a drive if you guys are willing to take it.”

“Deal.” Sirius replies quickly, shaking her hand while receiving looks from the other three. “What?”

“You can’t just make a deal without talking to us!”

“Oh, come on. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and you aren’t willing to take it?” He answers, Marlene nodding her head in agreement.

James and Peter share a look, hesitating before shaking Marlene’s hand as well. They’ve had enough with the lousy pay checks and their disgustingly small flat.

“Come on, Moons. For us!” They plead and nudge him in the sides. He let’s out an annoyed sigh and forces his hand into Marlene’s.

“Fine.”

Marlene let’s a grin form onto her face, clapping her hands together in gratitude. “You boys won’t regret this.”


	2. Chapter Two

**September 16th, 2017**

The sun beamed through the curtains into one of the rooms where the boys were passed out in. After receiving the well awaited news, Marlene offered them some celebratory drinks, which they quite enthusiastically agreed to. They then proceeded to spend their entire night drinking away, a bit too much even after Marlene had left.

A loud bang erupted from the front door, the pounding growing louder and louder until James swung the door open.

“What!” He shouted, groaning at the direct sunlight hitting his face, covering his eyes with his arm.

“Well, morning to you too, sunshine.” Marlene says, pushing her way past him and walking inside. “Why are you not dressed?”

“Dressed? Dressed for what?” James shuts the door behind her, dragging his feet on the floor until he reaches the couch and collapses onto it.

Marlene smacks her bag onto his chest, retrieving a groan in response, “We are to head to Oxford, you idiot. You know? To go to the studio!”

His eyes widen, placing his glasses onto his face and sitting up. “That’s today??” He says, Marlene nodding in response as he smacks the front of his head with his hand.

“LADS! GET UP!” He sprints up the stairs, swinging the room door open which holds three more very hung over boys.

James starts pulling off his shirt, throwing it at Sirius’ face as he digs through his pile of old dirty clothes to find a slightly _cleaner_ and more presentable one.

Sirius moans in annoyance, pulling the blanket off of Remus’ body and over his face. “The hell are you up for??” 

“We’re going to Oxford, you twat!” James squeaks. “The studio! Music! That bullshit with the Irish gal.”

“I thought we had to get going at nine.” Remus adds in, kicking Peter in the side with his foot.

“ _OW_!” Peter yelps out.

“It’s 9:50, Moons.” James grabs both Moony and Pads by the ankles, pulling them off the bed and letting them fall face on the floor.

“Ah, _shit._ ” Remus scrambles up from the floor, pushing past Peter and out of the room, colliding face to face with Marlene.

“AGH, WATCH IT.” Marlene shouts, fixing her coat and giving him a harsh look. “You four should've been up and ready an hour ago, now we’re gonna be late.”

“Sorry!” Remus smiles innocently, walking into the kitchen and snatching an almost empty packet of cigarettes from the top of the fridge. Marlene’s eyebrows arch upwards, eyeing the box and then looking at him.

“Few more packs of those and your voice will be damaged goods.” She says. “You can’t expect to sing and also be smoking five of those a day.”

“Oh, yeah?” Remus looks at her, slipping the cigarette between his lips and lighting it, letting it dangle between his teeth. “Watch me.”

Marlene hisses under her breath. Remus’ eyes give her body a quick scan. She has a nice long figure, tall, her loose blonde locks flowing around her shoulders and her big bubbly eyes fixed upon her watch. She seems young, but not young enough to be their age, perhaps 24, 25 at the least. She also seems way too uptight, she has a resting bitch face already planted on her face.

“WE’RE READY!” Peter shouts from upstairs, almost tripping over his own feet as he slips into his shoes. “We’re ready.”

“Finally! In the car, now!” Marlene says, walking out the door.

“I GET FRONT SEAT!”

“NO YA DON’T.”

Sirius and James yell at one another, shoving their way outside and running towards Marlene’s car. Sirius whines in an upsetting tone as James beats him to the front seat, sticking his tongue out only for it to be returned with Sirius’ middle fingers all up in James’ face.

“Morons.” Marlene murmurs, getting into the vehicle. “You three boys gotta squeeze in the back.”

Peter sits on the left hand side as Remus sits behind James, Sirius crawling in and taking a seat right on Remus’ lap.

“Uh, what are you doing?”

Sirius’ head turns over at him as he adjusts himself, his back leaning against the door as he lifts his legs onto Peter’s lap.

“You heard the lady, we gotta squeeze.” Sirius grins as Remus’ face scrunches up, tilting his head back on the seat.

Remus squirms around underneath him, causing Sirius to smirk and hum in an amusing tone.

Sirius always loved getting Remus humorously uncomfortable and red in the face, he had a way with making men feel like that. Though Pads had never confirmed it himself, the other three knew for a fact that Sirius had his preferences with men. It isn’t quite secretive when there are an extra pair of dirty boxers lying around on the floor after Sirius brings home a _‘friend’_ from the pub.

Remus never liked that, having a stranger come into their flat and Sirius allowing them to walk around and do as they please for the night. He once got up and found a lad taking a shower in their bathroom. _Disgusting_.

“Ready boys?” Marlene’s voice rings and interrupts Remus’ thoughts, turning the key and starting the engine up.

“Next stop, our start to fame and fortune.”

All four of the boys clap and whistle as Marlene shakes her head, stepping on the peddle and speeding off into the street.

Oxford is about two hours away from London, two hours of listening to James playing free styled songs on his guitar, or two hours of Sirius chatting away with lads on Twitter, or even two hours of hearing Peter’s obnoxiously loud snoring.

Remus breathes out heavily, resting his forehead against the window and looking out at the countryside. Sometimes he misses living in Whales, it was quieter there, peaceful. Though it also brings him memories he would rather keep locked away.

It’s September already, he plans on taking a trip back to see his parents and younger sister, Rosalyn. She’s turning one in November. The lads absolutely adore her, always buying her random useless gifts for her to chew on and not have a clue of what it’s used for. They all just have a little spot in their heart for babies.

The drive seems like it goes on for hours, nonstop of the bumpy road making the car bounce up and down. Sirius fell asleep, his head resting on one of Remus’ while Peter’s head was on his other.

“WE’RE HERE.” James shouts suddenly, causing Sirius to shoot up and bangs his against the car’s roof.

“Ah, fucking shit, Prongs.” Sirius groans as he rubs the front of his head.

James’ is too busy being fascinated by the shiny silver letters that are built across the building spelling out ‘Lupin’s Records.”

“Wait— Moons! Isn’t this your cousin’s place?” Peter asks, sticking his head out the window. “It says Lupin!”

Remus looks outside, eyebrows rising as he reads the studio’s name. “Oh, yeah. Yeah it is.”

“You know Julia?” Marlene adds in, parking the car and looking towards Remus.

“Yeah, Julia Lupin— Remus Lupin, connect the dots, McKinnon.” Remus pats her shoulder as she rolls her eyes, unlocking the car for them.

They all bustle out of the car, grabbing their bags and instruments and sprinting into the place. They are welcomed by a cool breeze hitting their faces once they open the doors. The whole place filled with couches and records of a nice gloomy blue and silver color.

“Remus!” A voice comes out from one of the rooms, a short girl with hair similar to Remus’ sandy colored one, walks out. She’s wearing a white turtleneck with a band T-shirt placed on top along with tight black jeans and her hair tied up in a very loose messy bun.

“Hey, Julia.” He smiles down at her as she pulls him in a hug.

“Oh, it’s been ages! I’ve been waiting for you to come visit me.” She says, smiling politely over at the others. “Who’s this?”

“Julia! This is Peter, James and Sirius.” Marlene adds in, both girls hugging each other tightly. “Ya know, the band I told you about last night.”

“Really?” Julia asks, surprised. “I didn’t think you’d bring me my cousin, Mars!”

“How was I supposed to know he was your cousin?” Marlene says, pulling off her coat and handing it over to one of the employees.

Julia shakes her head, walking off and waving at them to follow after. They all comply and follow her into a big recording room. She falls back into her chair and spins it over at them, her eyes scanning at each one of them, one by one.

“Well, tell me. What are you boys really doing here?”

“We want to make music, ma’am.” Peter replies quickly, Julia’s eyes resting on him as she hums to herself. “And— the blonde lady over here promised us that.

“Did she?” Julia looks at Marlene who responds with a shrug of the shoulders. She laughs to herself and nods. “What’s your name again?”

“Peter Pettigrew.” He grabs onto her hand and shakes it firmly, smiling to show off his pearly white teeth.

“Julia Lupin. Lovely to meet you.”

The two grin at one another before Sirius clears his throat, filling in the silence.

“So, are you gonna explain to us how you’ll make this all work?” Sirius says, making himself as comfortable as he can and sinking down into one of the couches. “Have you ever even made anyone famous?”

Marlene and Julia both give each other a look before breaking out into a laughing fit. The four boys arch their eyebrows and look in confusion.

“Has she ever made someone famous. Oh my, that’s funny.” Marlene says through her laughs, wiping her tears with a tissue.

“Loads of artists have come to my studio to record their hits. Best one yet would have to be Emmeline Vance.” Julia says, their reactions being exactly as how she anticipated them to be. Their eyes wide, looking as if they’re a second away to popping out of their faces.

“Emmeline Vance?? _The_ Emmeline Vance???”

“Yes, _the_ Emmeline Vance.” Julia responds mockingly, walking over to the many silver framed records on her wall and hooking one off. “Does this help justify my answer?”

James grabs onto it, his eyes glistening as he stares down at it. “Emmeline’s first sold album. Holy shit.” He breathes out.

“Yep! Recorded it all here!” Julia pipes up proudly. “Now she’s off with her interviews and stuff but when she has the time she’ll come and visit me.”

“Wicked.” James says, “I used to have the biggest crush on her. She’s fucking hot.” Marlene smacks the back of his head as he hisses quietly.

“Anyways,” Julia laughs a bit. “To sum up your question, Sirius, yes, I can. If you boys have the time and talent, I’ll bet you be the next _One Direction._

 _“Aye,” James growls, pointing his finger directly in her face, “_ we ain’t no boy band.”

“Sure you aren’t.” Julia pushes his hand away as a girl with flaring red hair stumbles in, holding a bunch of coffees and bags.

“Got the stuff!” She says, looking over at them all. “Oh— you’re all here already, hi!” She quickly shoves a cup of piping hot coffee into each one of her hands.

“Thank you?” Peter responds, slowly sipping it.

“Sorry, I’m Lily Evans.” The girl responds as she catches her breath.

“She’s a friend of Marlene and mine. She has like fifty jobs, always busy.” Julia jokes, Lily nudging her in the side as she settles down into a seat.

“I mostly do the lights at concerts or practices, you know, so they don’t look like greasy slim bags up on stage.” They all hold back a laugh, nodding their head in thanks once more for the coffees.

She has lovely red hair, messy cut bangs that fit her face structure perfectly along with her emerald eyes. Her cheeks are tinted red, probably from all the errands she had run.

“Did you say your name was Lily Evans?” James asks suddenly, scrolling through his phone. The Lily girl glances over at him, nodding her head.

“Yeah, I did. Why?” She asks with a thick Scottish accent.

James bites his bottom lip with his front teeth, attempting to restrain a laugh as he shows Sirius something that’s on his phone.

“Oh god.”

“What? Oh god _what_?” Lily stands up, putting her hand out, demanding the phone to be placed in her hand.

James slowly gives it to her, barely able to keep his laugh down any longer. “Are you the girl that _SevSevs Snape_ wrote about on Soundcloud?” He mumbles before breaking out laughing along with Sirius, Remus and Peter.

Marlene and Julia look over her shoulders and down at the phone, both of them covering their mouths with their hands. ~~~~

“Oh, you twat.” Lily hisses through her teeth, throwing the phone back at James’ chest. “How did you find that!” ~~~~

“He likes to send me and the lads weekly death threats!” James chokes through tears. “Oh god, it is you, isn’t it??” ~~~~

“Yes it is, you dickwad.” Lily snaps back, crossing her arms over her chest, her face growing a darker shade of red in anger. ~~~~

“His songs are terrible!” ~~~~

“No shit.” She purposely pushes his coffee out of his hands to fall straight onto his lap. He yelps in pain as the hot liquid soaks through his jeans and hits his bare skin. Lily’s nose scrunches up and hands him some napkins before storming out of the room. ~~~~

“Bloody hell! What’s her problem!” James asks pissed, dabbing down the napkins on his now stained pants.

“She doesn’t like Severus!” Marlene replies. ~~~~

“It looks like it!” James huffs and lays back, “now, serious talk.” He glares at Sirius before he can make an annoyingly overused joke. “How are we even gonna do this?”

“Well,” Julia begins, “We can record a song, preferably one you lads have written. Once we do that, I can edit it, you know, my magic and send it to some people. And if they like it, boom! One step closer to the big stage.”

“It can’t be that easy.” Remus adds in. “We can’t just become a hit overnight.”

“I never said you could. But it’s also not impossible.” Julia pats Remus’ cheek lightly with her hand. “It will take lots of time to record and make it perfect but, if you four are willing to put the effort, you’ll do great.”

She glances at them all, which they all share a knowing look before simultaneously putting their hands out towards her.

“Deal.”


	3. Chapter Three

**September 24th, 2017**

A little over a week has past since Marlene brought the boys to the studio. They’ve spent their long days and sleepless nights writing songs and recording them to make their own personal recordings, none of which they’ve been completely satisfied with. Currently, they’re staying in Julia’s upstairs space above the studio, saving them gas and time from driving back and forth from London.

Remus was growing impatient. He was always the easiest to set off, never being able to commit to something for too long before it makes his skin crawl. He hits the drum set out of frustration, throwing his head back and exhaling, looking sweaty and irritated.

“My head is killing me and we still haven’t got a decent song.” He groans, wiping away the dripping sweat off his forehead. He reaches for his bag and sticks his hand in, pulling out a pack of cigarettes.

“Well, smoking ain’t gonna get rid of that headache.” Sirius mumbles knowingly under his breath, receiving a harsh glare from Remus as he skims through the newspaper. “What!”

“Shut your trap, Pads.” Remus snaps, lighting it and deeply inhaling the smoke, eyes closing in pleasure.

Sirius sighed heavily, his eyes rested upon the paper but not reading it, just staring at all the words thrown together on the page. He scratches his chin, where he recently shaved some hair off, and clicks his teeth with his tongue.

Knocking comes from the door, Peter is the first one up, already heading towards it and unlocking it, opening it up to reveal Julia with her messy bun stuffed with pencils and a loosely buttoned up plaid shirt.

“Hey, boys.” Her cheeks were tinted of a shade of pink, her posture gave off the impression that she was rather flustered. She slips past the half opened door and into the small living room where the boys were gathered in.

She seemed rather tired, her under eyes a light violet color. She was parched as well, she started chugging a bottle of lemonade before gasping lightly, wiping her mouth quickly.

“Someone had a long night, hm?” She looks over at James, whose eyebrows are arched up in amusement.

“I s’pose.”

Remus studies her with his eyes, as he does with every person that comes across suspicious to him. He furrows his eyebrows and checks the time on his phone.

“Ten past nine. Marlene usually comes to wake us up at eight.” He hums, Julia’s eyes widening slightly and tapping her fingers on the counter.

“She slept in. Had a long night.”

“With you?” Remus questions. Julia blinks, laughing uncomfortably and throwing a nearby towel at his face.

“What are ya doing! Interrogating me?” She hesitates before rolling her eyes at all four sets of eyes staring her down. “Marlene and I just had a couple of drinks before bed. Is that a crime?”

“You two were a bit loud last night.” Peter adds in, avoiding Julia’s gaze as he writes through his song book. “Then you started playing music at 2am. Kinda odd.”

She scoffs in annoyance. “Piss off.”

Marlene soon interrupts the conversation, walking in as she’s buttoning up her undone blouse. Her blonde hair all tangled up into two buns, on the edge of falling apart.

“Err, morning.” The rest of them nod at her in response. She grabs the jug off hour old coffee and pours it into a mug, taking a long sip before sighing. “My head is killing me.”

“Wonder why!” Sirius pipes up. Julia shoots him a threatening look which he simply ignores.

“Oh, for christ sakes. You two shagged. Over and done with.” James adds in impatiently, balancing his guitar on the tip of his knee. The two girls glance at one another before turning red from embarrassment.

“Inappropriate, wanker.” Marlene hisses at James, who returns it with a loud stroke of his guitar, causing Marlene to cover her ears dramatically.

“Ow!” She shouts. James smiles innocently at her, playing a soft tune on the guitar as he hums.

“Anyways,” Julia adds in blandly, desperately wanting to free the air of this awkward tension. “You boys get dressed. A visitor is coming in a bit.”

All four heads snap over at her. “ _Who_?”

“You’ll see!” She shushes them, waving her hands at them to go get ready. They all scramble about the place, digging through piles of clothes for something decently appealing.

Marlene and Julia murmur to one another quietly behind the counter, both their cheeks flushing red as they continue their private conversation. The two girls were awfully close to one another, Marlene’s hand was resting upon Julia's arm as she took a long sip of her coffee.

Julia’s phone buzzes in her pocket, which she reaches for and answers quickly. “Hey!”

A muffled voice comes from the phone, it was definitely a woman. The voice was too high pitched and feminine to be a male’s. Julia ends the call with a _“be right down_ ,” response and shouts down the small hallway towards the rooms.

“STUDIO IN FIVE MINUTES.” She says. Julia walks out of the small apartment quickly, her foot steps slowly fading as she walks down stairs.

“You heard the lady, five minutes!” Marlene repeats again, softly pushing Peter along and helping him ruffle up his hair.

“Do you know who’s coming? I hate surprises.” Peter asks impatiently. Marlene eyes him slightly as she shrugs her shoulders back.

“No. I don’t know a thing.” She smiles kindly and gently pats him on the shoulder before turning to the other three. “Go go!”

Sirius pushes past them all, zooming down the stairs and into the studio, the others following right behind him. Julia was organizing the place, throwing away leftover muffin wrappers and some old coffee cups.

“Tell us already!” James whines out.

Julia laughs at how they have little to no patience, not even being able to wait five minutes. She checks her phone once more and spins over to them, a grin on her face.

“Okay, okay.” She says, settling them down. “So, a friend of mine is coming over— but I need you four to keep your cool and not embarrass me.”

“Why would they embarrass you!”

The boys freeze in their place, recognizing immediately that very well known voice. They all spin around, jaws dropping in place as they see Emmeline Vance standing by the door.

She licks her recently dry lips with the tip of her tongue, pushing back her caramel brown hair into a ponytail. Her eyes glistened in amusement as neither one of the boys could take their eyes off of her.

Julia rubs her temples, flicking the back of their heads. “Don’t be so rude! Say hello!” She barks, eyeing them all.

“Oh my bloody shit. You’re Emmeline Vance.” James spits out, taking her hand in his and shaking it vigorously. “ _The_ Emmeline Vance. Oh my, you’re even hotter in person.”

Emmeline raises her eyebrows, slowly taking her hands out of his reach and patting him awkwardly on the cheek.

“Yes, it’s nice to meet you.”

He grins widely, “I’m James. James Potter! Very big fan, Miss Vance.” He stutters out. Julia inhales sharply, trying to calm herself as he embarrasses himself even more.

“Call me Emmeline.” She says. Turning to Sirius, she puts her hand out to shake. “You must be— Sirius! Recognized you by the hair.”

He chokes a bit, shaking her hand quickly. “Yes. Yeah, that’s me.” He scratches his neck awkwardly and sinks down slowly in a seat.

Emmeline laughs to herself, proceeding over to the other two. “You must be..” she scans down the taller of the twos body, “Remus! And that leaves me with Peter, yes?”

They both nod nervously, greeting her with a slight hand shake and sit back down embarrassingly.

Marlene didn’t seem too thrilled about her arrival. She glared over at Julia, giving her a look of annoyance. Her nostrils were flaring widely as she clicks her top teeth with her tongue.

“I’m guessing _she is here too?”_

Marlene says clearly. Emmeline looks over her shoulder as she slides off her coat, Peter grabbing it quickly for her.

“Oh, thank you.” She says and looks over at Marlene, a look of apology on her face. “Yes, she is, obviously. She was out front talking to our driver.”

Marlene scoffs, an irritating smile creeping on her face as she digs her nails into the palm of her hand. Her breathing was becoming unsteady, the boys unclear of why that is.

As Emmeline starts to settle in, a tall woman with heavenly dark skin and straightened hair enters the room, a smile on her face as she sets down some bags.

“Finally!” She exclaims lightly. She looked exhausted, little wrinkles formed under her eyes but still had more energy than everyone in the room combined together.

She exhales quietly, patting her hands on each side of her body and facing the lads. “Dorcas Meadowes! Manager of this lovely gal over here.” She nudges Emmeline softly in the side, receiving an affectionate smile.

Marlene however, hasn’t removed her eyes off of Dorcas since the moment she stepped foot into the room. She was biting her bottom lip so hard that it could start bleeding with a few more nibbles.

Dorcas glances over at Marlene, the smile on her face slowly disappearing in thin air. The room filled with the awkward silence of the two just standing in front of one another, glaring each other down.

“McKinnon. Good morning.” Dorcas slurs, forcing her hand into Marlene’s, who replies with a tight squeeze.

“Morning, Meadowes.” Marlene replies, trying to keep her tone calm and steady as she let’s go of Dorcas’ hand. Julia casually squeezes herself in between them, clearing her throat loudly and clapping her hands together.

“Well, then! Now that we’re all introduced to one another, we should get down to business.”

“I still don’t understand,” Remus says, awkwardly standing straighter when Emmeline glances over at him. “Why is Emmeline being here such a big surprise for us? No offense.”

“None taken, love.” She pats his arm and hums, taking a seat in Julia’s chair and spinning around in it. “Julia called me a few days ago, said that her cousin and his friends were in a band and that they were surprisingly good. So, I wanted to know if that was true! She sent me some recordings you all did and well, you were better than I expected!”

“Oh— she thinks we're good. You heard that, Pads?? Emmeline Vance liked our singing.” James squeaks in enthusiasm as Sirius shakes his head with embarrassment.

“I think we all heard, Prongs.”

James looks up and smiles sheepishly, nervously running his hand through his hair.

“As I was saying,” Emmeline continues, “I liked it. Loved it, if I’m being honest. So did Dorcas and people from my team. That’s why I forced her to let us come here.”

Sirius scrunches his nose up in confusion. “I still don’t understand. What are you implying exactly?”

She laughs, a very lovely, heaven to the ears laugh which makes everyone smile slightly. “I mean.. you guys have talent. And I like showing the world true talent. I want you four to perform at my concert.”

All four of the lads stay still in place, afraid that any sudden movement would wake them up from this dream like moment. Surely she isn’t asking a group of pathetic eighteen year olds to open up for her at a concert full of thousands of people. She must be mental, they thought.

“Perform? Perform. For you??” Peter stammers, holding his breath as he stares wide eyed at Emmeline. She smiles knowingly, nodding her head.

“Yeah! Open up for me. You know— a few songs. Could be covers, could be some of your own.” She answers, dragging her chair along and sitting right in front of them. “Now, I don’t think you boys wanna say no to this. Not everyday you get offered stuff like this.”

“As if we’d say no!” James exclaims, laughing uncontrollably. “Oh my god, are y’all hearing this? We’re gonna be on the big stage.”

“So, is that a yes?”

They all look between one another, giving each other the knowingly look of approval before Sirius says, “most definite yes.”

Emmeline gaved a pleased look before leaning back in her chair, murmuring to Dorcas to get everything planned with her team.

Sirius jumps up out of his seat along with Peter and James, chaotically cackling and pulling one another into a bone crushing hug. Remus looks up at them, smiling slightly as he rolls his eyes.

“Oh, come on, Moons! It’s okay to show some damn emotions. We’re gonna be a hit!” James says, grabbing Remus by the arm and pulling him into the hug.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, Prongs.” Remus reassures him, soon giving in and swinging his arms over their shoulders, squeezing them into the hug even more.

“Two weeks, boys.” Emmeline murmurs quietly. “In two weeks you’ll be able to show your talent to thousands, don’t make me regret it.”


	4. Chapter Four

**September 30th, 2017**

Peter began loading the minivan that Emmeline rented for the lads to get to the stadium. He was up and ready before the rest of them, feeling a mix of nausea and anxiousness whirling around in his stomach. He’s been the lead singer of their band for a while now, since the other three decided that he has the most soothing voice to perform. Though, he gets the most nervous of them all. His voice always cracking up when he’s in any sort of awkward situation, not a very good trait to have when being a singer. He sighs to himself, trying to fit all the equipment into the van, only for it to burst out and fall right on top of him.

He falls back onto the ground, pounds of instruments crushed all over him. He huffs and rests his head back against the concrete as a shadow covers the sunlight that was hitting his face. His eyes open slightly, looking up at an amused Julia Lupin, who laughs tiredly.

“Decided to take a quick nap?” She asks, lifting the equipment off of him and neatly placing it in the trunk, “If you needed help, you should’ve just woken up the others.”

He stands up from off the ground and dusts the dirt off from his trousers. “Nah, it’s fine. Reckon James and Sirius would make a bigger mess than I did.” He beckoned, stuffing his hands into his pockets and sitting on the edge of the van’s trunk. Julia nods her head softly, slowly taking a seat besides him, staring out onto the street. A light fog of air blows out of her mouth as she exhales quietly, tilting her head back as she let’s the fresh autumn breeze hit her face.

“So,” She says, making Peter look to his side, “today’s the rehersal, are you excited?”

Peter thinks for a moment, he should be excited, he thought to himself. They’ve all wanted an opportunity like this for years, and now they are finally given one. Yet the excitement he should be having hasn't hit him yet. It’s probably overshadowed by all the nervousness bubbling up inside him, not letting the joy slip through the cracks.

He picks at the small scabs on the palm of his hands before answering, “I will be. Guessing I just got the nerves, that’s all.” He confessed. Julia leans her head to the side and looks at him supportingly.

“That’s alright. It’s normal to get nervous, but you really shouldn’t be. You’re a great singer.” She assures him, only receiving a hum in return. She nudges him right in the side, “I’m serious! You gotta quit doubting yourself. It’s a very unpleasant trait you’ve got.”

Peter snorts under his breath and shoots her a very effortless grin, which she accepts and smiles back softly. “Thanks.” He says. Julia nods her head in response. The two of them turn their heads over at the loud groans and complaints of the other three lads, along with Marlene.

“Shut it already!” Marlene exclaims, walking behind a sleepy looking James, “how do you three expect to be singers if you can’t even get your arses out of bed on time?”

“Why do we have to rehearse so early?”

“So people don’t become lazy morons like you.” Marlene snaps back, throwing her bag into the trunk, “stop your yapping and get in the damn car.”

James huffs harshly, rolling his eyes and crawling into the front seat as he rests his head onto the dashboard. Marlene exhales firmly and shoots a knowing look at the others, which they comply to and all squeeze into the car.

“Peter, Julia, you two sit in the back.” Marlene says, getting into the driver's seat and turning on the car. She takes a moment to calm herself from the boys irritable complaints and squeezes her eyes shut.

Julia climbs her way over the lads, receiving growls and yells in return as she accidentally steps on Remus’ groin. She falls back into the back seat, groaning a bit as she hits her head on the car floor. Peter looks over, making his way into the back as well.

“Are you alright? Here, give me your hand.” He reaches his arm out for her to grab, only to be pushed over by Sirius before he can pull her back up.

“Whoops! Sorry.” Sirius murmurs, laying back on the seats and resting his head on Remus’ lap.

Falling right on top of Julia, he growls faintly and lifts himself up. He pushed himself off the floor and sat back on the seat, pulling Julia up onto it as well. “Arsehole.” Peter grunts, giving Sirius a hard yank of his ear. 

“OW!” Sirius yelps, rubbing his ear in pain. He turns his face up towards Remus, pouting his bottom lip dramatically, “Moons, he hurt me. Kiss me better, hm?” He teases, puckering up his lips and humming. Remus rolls his eyes and smacks Sirius in the face with his bag, causing a groan to come out.

“Behave back there!” Marlene announced, driving off and shoving her sunglasses on her face as James plays around with the radio. Soon, getting bored of all the old tunes and grabbing his guitar from his case. He plays a soft tune on it, leaning his face against the window and mumbling some gibberish to go along with the melody.

Remus runs his hand through Sirius long raven colored hair, watching as his eyes close in peacefulness. He smiles to himself, looking over his shoulder to see Julia’s head fall onto Peter’s shoulder as she had fallen asleep as soon as Marlene started driving. Peter gently pulls a spare blanket over her, covering the side windows to block out any sunlight coming through.

Remus glances back down at Sirius, watching as his breath steadies, knowing he had fallen asleep. He knew Sirius was nervous. Not about the rehearsal, about performing in front of thousands of people next week, but Sirius always hides his nerves, not wanting to worry the rest of them, though Remus could easily see through him. Sirius had a habit of pulling at his bottom lip and nibbling at it when he gets the slightest bit anxious, Remus learned that through the years.

Remus lets out a long breath, running his thumb against Sirius’ jaw softly. After a while, Remus looks out the window to see the big platinum stadium hovering over the parking lot.

He nudges Sirius awake and he jumps, groaning and looking up at Remus, “what you do that for?”

Remus laughs to himself, tilting his head towards the window for Sirius to look through. Peaking his up from Remus’ lap, he gasps, scrambling up and shoving both James and Peter manically. “LADS, LADS. LOOK, WE’RE HERE!” He screeches, being accompanied by another two screams. 

“HOLY SHIT, IT’S BIGGER THAN I EXPECTED.”

“That’s what she said.” James cackles to himself, receiving an irritated glare from Marlene.

“Keep your knickers on.” Marlene mumbles, not even taking her foot off the peddle before all four of the boys jump out of the car, staring up at the stadium in complete and utter fascination.

“I can’t believe this.” Sirius adds in, starting to unload the van, “Feels like a dream! We are actually here- we are going to rehearse and perform for bloody Emmeline Vance.” He says in one breath, casually pinching his arm to try to snap himself out of it.

“Well, don’t act so surprised. You got talent.” Julia mentions, eyeing Peter knowingly, indirectly implying the conversation to their earlier chat. “Now, hurry along inside. Marlene and I will get some guys to bring this stuff in, Emmeline and Dorcas are probably waiting for you all on stage.”

They hurry along inside, walking onto the open stage that’s setup with speakers and rehearsal instruments. Lily comes out from behind a curtain, a screwdriver swinging around her hand as she looks up, smiling slightly.

“Well, hi again!” She says, smiling at each one of them. They respond with a small grin and a wave of their hand, a bit busy still scanning the area around them. Lily hums quietly, the amazement of the place already washed away through her eyes. “You better start setting up your stuff, Emmeline should be out in a few. I gotta go fix the lights.”

She smiles timidly, squeezing through them and climbing onto a ladder out of view from where the crowd would sit. She climbs up to the top, tightening up a loose screw that’s holding the light up. She stuffs the screwdriver in her back pocket and flicks the light on, shining the bright beam right in the boys’ faces.

“Aye!” James exclaims, squinting his eyes shut and covering them with his hand, “cut that out!”

Lily chuckles amusingly, tilting the light into another direction, “Wimp.”

James furrows his eyebrows in annoyance and sets down his guitar case. “Well, you heard the lady, we best start setting up.” He pulls out his bright ruby colored guitar, giving it a few good strokes. Sirius scrambles off to find an outlet to plug in his bass as Remus has already settled down, adjusting his drum set and placing them as he likes.

Peter awkwardly grabs onto the microphone that was left on the stage, tapping on it lightly to see if it was on, causing an ear wrenching static noise to erupt out of the humongous speakers from all around the stadium. Shouts and complaints being yelled at him for the awful noise. He mumbles his apologies into the microphone, sighing to himself.

“Jesus Christ, you’re here for five minutes and already have my team throwing complaints.” Emmeline says, emerging from the back stage, alongside Dorcas.

“I’m— sorry, I didn’t— I thought it—..” Peter stammers out.

“Relax, I’m just messing with ya!” She assures him, patting him firmly on the shoulder. “Take a breath, Pete.”

He lets out a shaky breath, rubbing his sweaty palms against his ripped up trousers.

“Where’s McKinnon?” Dorcas asks, walking down the stage steps and taking a seat in the front row, “Always late, why am I not surprised?”

“Oh, shut your trap. I’m right here.” Marlene snaps, walking in from behind along with Julia. “Why am _I_ not surprised you’re already talking shit about me? Guess I’m just a lovely topic starter.” She hums. Dorcas rolls her eyes, ignoring Marlene’s witty response and turning back to the boys.

“Anyways,” she begins, “I need to know the song you four will be playing to open up. No slow, snooze fest songs. The audience needs to already be up and out of their seats.”

“Uh, is the song Everybody Talks okay?” Peter asks, mindlessly picking at his shirt, “the one by Neon Trees? If.. if not we could change it, doesn’t really matter.” He mumbles quietly.

“Oh, I love that song!” Emmeline pipes up. “My friend Edgar used to love it, always would listen to it when he picked me up from class.” She says, her voice drifting slightly at the sudden change of subject. She takes a moment to gather herself and she smiles. “That song is perfect.”

She takes a seat besides Dorcas, who casually places a hand on her shoulder, a look of worry in her eyes. Emmeline brushes her off, patting her knee lightly and looking back up at the boys.

“Well, go on!”

The four of them scramble in place, adjusting their instruments before beginning to play. Remus starting off with a subtle tune from the drums, soon followed by the mix of Sirius’ bass and James’ guitar, lastly with Peter’s voice commencing the song all together.

It goes on for what seems like hours. The tips of James’ and Sirius’ hands growing sore from the hours of playing, Remus slouching in pain. They wouldn’t be playing this long if it wasn’t for Peter’s nerves getting the better of him. The slight crack in his voice along with messing up parts of the songs, causing them to start the song from the top. He murmurs his apologies and grips onto the mic, resting his forehead onto it.

“They need a break.” Julia stands from her seat, motioning at them to stop.

“You don’t get to decide that!” Dorcas exclaims.

“I get to, and I decide they need a break, Meadowes.” Marlene says harshly, “they’ve been playing for five hours straight. At least let them have a damn water break.”

Dorcas exhales annoyingly, throwing her hands up. “Fine, fine! I need a smoke break from this _god_ awful music.” She grits her teeth, strutting off outside. Peter takes a big gulp, slumping down onto the floor and hanging his feet off the stage. Julia walks over to him, placing her hand gently on top of his.

“Hey.” He looks down at her. She has a soft expression on her face, not an irritated one like the lads or Dorcas, one that makes him feel a little less like an idiot. “Don’t listen to Dorcas, yeah? She’s just stressed, and you’re just nervous. We all know you’re a good singer, you just gotta shake out those nerves.”

“How do I do that? The concert is next week and I can’t even sing a proper song for rehearsal.” He tells her, running his hand through his messy dirty blonde hair, “maybe James should lead this one, I could sit this one out.”

“No!” Julia exclaims, almost immediately after he finishes his sentence. “No, he won’t lead, you will. You’re as much a part of this damn band as the rest of them. It’s understandable that you’re nervous, Peter, they all are. They might not show it like you do but trust me, it’s eating them up inside.” She slips her hand into his, giving it a tight squeeze, “just sing, don’t think. They can’t perform without you.”

Peter lets out a fragile chuckle, gripping her hand a bit tighter before letting go.

“I’ll give it a go one more time. Thanks for that little speech.” He says teasingly, forcing her to giggle to herself and nodding her head in response. He rises from his seat, looking apologetically and the others as he clutches onto the microphone once more. “Sorry, I’m okay now.”

Julia gives him two thumbs up before the music starts playing again. He closes his eyes slightly, the nervous shake still making his leg shake but he ignores it. He clears his throat before singing clearly through the microphone, forcing back any small cracks. Dorcas walks in half through the song, coming in slowly as she observes.

With the clash of Remus’ drums to end the song, Emmeline jumps out of her seat, clapping madly as she climbs onto the stage, throwing her arms around Peter. “Oh, that was wonderful! I got goosebumps!”

Peter smiles, a small but a smile after all. Emmeline hugs him once more before going off to hug the rest of them. Julia walks over to the stage looking up at him as he crutches down. “Did I do okay?”

“You did fucking brilliant.” She leans up and kisses him firmly on the cheek, turning a light shade of pink as he awkwardly scratches the back of his neck.

“Shit, well— thank you.” He weakly laughs out, a tone of embarrassment in his voice. Julia grins innocently, turning back over to Marlene and Dorcas, leaving him all flustered and embarrassed on stage. “Bloody hell.”


End file.
